Abora's outpost had a clear chain of command, and a Lieutenant stood on top of it. The place also had many soldiers busy with different tasks, but a good chunk of them had left their posts and had gathered in a control room to keep track of the outside scanners.
The Lieutenant in charge, a bald and burly middle-aged man, inspected the various screens on the wall, but nothing specific happened. The scanners only recorded rain and the forest immersed in it.
"How long has he been out there?" The Lieutenant asked without diverting his gaze from the screens.
"Six hours, sir," Derek replied. "Two hours since it started raining."
"And what's your professional opinion?" The Lieutenant wondered. "Should we send probes?"
"Lieutenant Monton," Derek called before lowering his head. "If he is dead, the Feicox wouldn't have left much of him."
"We are still talking about a Captain," Lieutenant Monton cursed, "A Captain in bed with the Solodrey family."
"Should we prepare for the worst, sir?" A soldier in the room asked.
"We don't know if this outpost will survive the Solodrey family's anger," Lieutenant Monton stated, "Or the nobles for what it's worth. Still, the mission came from Headmistress Holwen. She might need to find a scapegoat, so start running if you wronged her in the past."
A series of exchanges of gazes unfolded, but no one left the room. The soldiers there were too low on the chain of command to earn a meeting with the Headmistress. Even Lieutenant Monton had never been in her office.
"O-our," Derek stammered as a realization fell upon him, "Our data was perfect. Captain Khan agreed to the mission willingly."
"Yeah," Lieutenant Monton sighed. "Be sure to tell the Headmistress that if she ever comes down here."
"Sir, there is something in the third quadrant!" A soldier suddenly exclaimed, bringing all the eyes in the room to the fourth screen.
The scanners picked up a presence that could match Khan's signature, but the soldiers didn't let those stats reassure them. They waited and waited until a trunk at the forest's edge trembled, and a limping Khan came from behind it.
The soldiers didn't immediately recognize Khan. Mud and blood covered him, and his uniform was long since gone. He was only wearing his ragged pants and his dirty sheath, but the backpack hanging from his shoulders revealed his identity.
"Send a medical team outside!" Lieutenant Monton shouted, breaking the tense silence. "Now!"
The room took life, and everyone exited it to resume their tasks. Only a few soldiers headed toward the hangar closer to the third quadrant to retrieve medical equipment and attend to Khan.
As for Khan, he felt drained. His feet were heavy and dug into the mud, and every drop that fell on him threatened to make him collapse. The fever had gone up, and he could barely focus on the outpost ahead, but his legs kept moving forward.
A team of soldiers left the outpost when Khan was almost in front of it, and a series of shouts followed. A few questions even reached Khan's ears, but he didn't care enough to force himself to answer.
When the team reached Khan, he removed the backpack to hand it to the first soldier in his reach. Another tried to grab his arm to support him, but he pulled it away to keep moving forward on his own. He was on autopilot, which didn't allow anyone's help.
The soldier who seized the backpack hurried inside to check its contents. Meanwhile, Khan limped forward, and his balance threatened to crumble when a metal floor replaced the mud. He staggered, but a wall was nearby, and he used it to support himself.
The sudden loss of balance made a soldier reach for Khan, but he grabbed the incoming hand before it could touch him. His cold eyes also went on the woman, which turned her worry into fear.
'Right,' Khan thought as the autopilot took the backseat. 'I made it back.'
Khan looked at the scared woman for a few more seconds before letting go of her hand. He also pushed himself away from the wall to keep walking, but more people arrived.
"Captain!" Lieutenant Monton called while hurrying through the corridor. "We thought to have lost you out there."
Khan ignored the Lieutenant, but Derek was also with him, and he didn't miss the purple spots. He approached Khan, and a worried question left his mouth. "Did you lose the antidote, sir?"
"It doesn't work on me," Khan weakly whispered, browsing through his right pocket to take out the flask with the pills. Derek promptly accepted it, but that didn't ease his worries.
"Sir, the medical bay is just around the corner," Derek stated, and Lieutenant Monton followed with another offer. "You can stay here as long as you want!"
"No, I need to go back to the Harbor," Khan voiced another whisper. "Is my ship ready?"
"Sir, you can't-," Lieutenant Monton muttered.
"I can," Khan interrupted. "Prepare my ship."
"But, sir," Derek added.
"I have classes tomorrow," Khan said before Derek could add anything. He even continued to advance, but his unstable stance depicted a clear picture of his condition.
Lieutenant Monton and Derek exchanged a glance before looking at Khan again. They could see how weak he was, but nothing seemed able to make him stop. The scene was actually a bit pitiful and shed light on Khan's true state.
Khan was nothing short of a celebrity. Everyone in the Global Army had heard about him, and the soldiers in that outpost were no exception. Still, his fame told stories of an incredible warrior who could come out on top of any threat, which wasn't what Lieutenant Monton and the others saw.
The soldiers around Khan couldn't help but gain insights into his situation from watching that scene. He could barely stand, but his worries were on the Harbor's classes. That wasn't resolve or work ethic. That was an obsession fueled by something too deep to see.
Lieutenant Monton wanted to object, especially after seeing through Khan, but the latter outranked him. If Khan wanted to get on the ship, the Lieutenant couldn't do much to stop him.
However, Derek forgot ranks and status. He was a worried scientist, and the scene made him put that feeling into words. "Captain, the poison is still active. We can't clear you to fly without checking you."
"My ship," Khan voiced, uncaring of Derek's argument. He only wanted to go back to his flat right now.
"Sir, you might be contagious!" Derek shouted, blatantly lying about the poison's properties. Everyone in the area knew the truth, even Khan, but he was too tired to recall that detail, and the possibility of infecting his friends made him give in.
"Alright, check me," Khan nodded, "But prepare my ship in the meantime."
"You heard the Captain!" Lieutenant Monton raised his voice, and the soldiers in the area hurried through the corridor to reach the hangar. Meanwhile, he remained with Derek and escorted Khan toward a medical bay nearby.
Derek ran scanners over Khan's figure while he sat on a simple bed. It was hard to tell whether he was conscious since his half-closed eyes were always lost somewhere, but no one dared to interrogate him. Clearly, he was too tired, so the soldiers respected his silence.
A soldier even tried to give Khan a warm and wet towel, but he ignored it. He was beyond dirty, but returning to the Harbor was the sole thought that existed in his mind.
"Sir, can I have a moment of your time?" A soldier interrupted the silence to call for Lieutenant Monton, and the latter followed him outside the room. A few minutes had to pass for him to return with a shocked expression and a device.
"Captain," Lieutenant Monton called before clearing his throat. He didn't know how to put his thoughts into words, but looking at the screen again forced him to continue.
"Sir, did you do this?" Lieutenant Monton eventually managed to ask while showing the screen to Khan and Derek.
Khan's gaze focused on the device, which conveyed a far too familiar scene. The screen was showing the destroyed and still fuming lake area, and its state made Derek open his mouth in shock.
"The lake was in the way," Khan limited himself to explain before eyeing Derek. "Are we done?"
"Oh, yes!" Derek gasped. "Your body is naturally building resistance to the poison. You won't gain full immunity, but a few nights of rest will get you back to your feet."
Khan jumped off the bed at those words. Derek had basically cleared him, and he couldn't wait to leave.
"Is my ship ready?" Khan asked.
Lieutenant Monton was still shocked by the scene on the screen. He couldn't believe that a single man had caused so much destruction. It was actually scary to think that, but his duty eventually had the better of him.
"Yes, sir," Lieutenant Monton replied. "I don't advise it, but you can depart immediately."
Khan didn't say anything else. He left the room and followed a soldier toward a hangar, where a welcoming party was already waiting for him. He obviously ignored those military salutes and entered his ship to begin the set-off procedures.
"Use the same speed as yesterday," Khan ordered the ship. "I'll leave the trip back to you."
"Sir, such levels of speed in your condition-," The ship's robotic voice tried to give a warning, but Khan silenced it by pressing a key on the control desk.
Khan managed to relax only when the set-off started. A tired sigh escaped his mouth when the ship left the metal floor, and his consciousness faltered. The nightmare was calling him. He was ready to sleep on that very seat, but his hand promptly rose to deliver a slap to his cheek.
"Pull out the notes," Khan ordered, delivering another slap to himself to remain awake. His mission was over, but his duties were still there, and wasting time wasn't an option. His body couldn't have limits when so much was at stake.
